Jai Opetaia Wants David Benavidez's Cruiserweight Belts

David Benavidez turned one 2026 fight into a pound-for-pound climb, and now he's got a target on his back. Jai Opetaia — 30-0 with 23 knockouts and the lineal cruiserweight champion — told Boxing King Media that once he handles Noel Mikaelian this Saturday, Benavidez's freshly claimed WBC and WBO straps are next on his list.

Benavidez sits at 32-0 (26 KO) and just pulled off one of the year's boldest moves. After being elevated to WBC light-heavyweight champion in 2025 and stopping Anthony Yarde inside seven rounds in his lone defence, he jumped 25 pounds to cruiserweight and dismantled unified titleholder Gilberto Ramírez, forcing a stoppage in the sixth to become a three-division world champion.

The Pitch

Opetaia's framing is refreshingly blunt: he doesn't chase names, he chases belts. He said he wants to be undisputed whether Benavidez takes the fight or vacates — either outcome works for him. But he also made clear the fight is the one he actually wants, calling Benavidez a fighter he respects and a good guy, and pointing to a shared background of building careers from nothing.

The undisputed pieces are within reach on paper. Benavidez holds the WBC and WBO; Opetaia carries the lineal claim and his own hardware. Between them there's not a single defeat — 62-0 combined — which is the kind of matchup that doesn't come around often at any weight, let alone cruiser.

First, Saturday

None of it matters if Opetaia slips against Mikaelian. That bout serves as co-main to Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a card headlined by Benn (25-1, 14 KO) taking on Garcia in one of the year's more curious welterweight-adjacent pairings.

Opetaia's last outing was a unanimous-decision win over Brandon Glanton, so the momentum is there. His argument boils down to a line that's hard to disagree with: the best should fight the best, and he reckons Benavidez knows it too. Whether Benavidez fancies defending against a 30-0 southpaw with a granite chin, rather than exploring greener options higher up, is the real question.